Julie Cart / CalMatters

As drought grips most of California, water thefts have increased to record levels. Thieves tap into hydrants, pump water from rivers and break into remote water stations and tanks.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: California is in the grip of a severe drought. Again.Now the federal government is stepping in to help.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was nearly wiped out by fire. It remains closed as the state struggles to protect nearly 300 parks from climate change. Solutions are costly: thinning forests, adding sand to beaches, moving parking lots and buildings.

Utility companies are carrying out numerous tasks to prevent wildfires, from ramping up line inspections to replacing antiquated equipment. But critics say that PG&E and other electric providers should be focusing less on the cheap stuff, like cutting trees, and more on upgrading its thousands of miles of old lines and aging equipment.

The North Coast’s rainforests are hotter, drier and less foggy. That means more dangerous fires that can scar iconic redwoods.

The record-breaking fire season could have lasting effects on the economy of California’s mountain communities.

Assembly leadership says too much opposition, too little time to address disputes over $3 billion in fees on utility customers for fire and climate change projects.

California’s early outbreak of major fires means its neighbors can’t send much aid because they’re ablaze, too.

Facing another devastating wildfire season, state lawmakers are proposing last-minute legislation to tap into a utility-bill fee to free up $500 million for training firefighters and other immediate steps.